Industrial
Animals
is about exploring the line between art and self satisfaction, the
director‘s
intentions
to make the documentary come from a place of curiosity but his motivations
come from
an
urge to control. The film plays with the idea of who really is in control.

What were your sources of inspiration when writing Industrial
Animals, and how much of the film was based on a rigid script, how
much was improvised on set?

When
writing improvised films like this I tend to follow the Larry David Curb
Your Enthusiasm
method,
of bullet points and some rehearsal beforehand, although due to the nature of
this film a lot of it
needed
to be raw energy and comfortability. Main source of inspiration came from
a lot of
documentaries
like Capturing the Friedmans or any work from Nick Broomfield as opposed to
any
direct
horror film.

Quite honestly, being the
director of Industrial
Animals, to what extent could you identify with the director-character
in your movie?

The
director in Industrial
Animals
is pretty much any fear I have in being a man in control
within sexual situations,
but
in all honestly I wanted to depart my character as much possible from
myself, mostly because I
play
a character in a webseries called The Making Of which is more loosely
based on myself. So
the
director Terrance Elliot needed to be a strong departure from who I am.

Do talk about your writing partner (and
co-producer/co-star) Tamsin Howland, and what was your collaboration like
when dreaming up Industrial
Animals?

It
was a desire and urge to create something secluded, focused and extreme, I
was lucky to have a
working
relationship with Miss Howland, we needed to all be happy and comfortable
with what we
were
doing, staying on location for a few days, just the three of us.

You've chosen the found footage approach for Industrial
Animals - why, and what were the main advantages and challenges
filming that way?

I
personally think found footage can be fantastic in having strong
characters and exploring the
psychology
and reasoning, but only if you treat found footage like doc drama, so many
people
forget
that found footage can be documentary filmmaking, it's your world, your
creating. Best
example
of this is Cannibal Holocaust,
it's more of a documentary than just someone running
around
scared with a camera, a job still has to be done, documenting evidence.

You also play one of the leads in Industrial
Animals - so do talk about your character, what did you draw upon to
bring him to life, and did you write him with yourself in mind?

I
always knew I'd have to play the role, simply due to being a zero budget
production.
The
focused
hate
and control the character feels, you see in men all the time, the
sickening treatment of
anywhere
considered lower class. Terrance to me is a product of this country having
a Tory gouverment,
running around laughing and exploiting.

Do
talk about your co-stars, and why exactly them?

Tamsin
was actually a makeup artist on a few shorts with me, this was the thing
she'd acted in,
Thomas
Davenport is a very good friend and an outstanding cinematographer. I find
when working
with
improv and doc dramas you can risk not working with actors. None of us are
full-on profesional
actors, but within the constraints of extremity it needed to be
believeable

A few
words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?

We
kept the enviroment as relaxed as possible, smoking, drinking, eating make it feel less like it
was
a restricted film set. Doing the nasty actions we did on-screen it helped
to be as relaxed as
possible!

I
was honestly stunned, this being the first extreme film we've done, I didn't
expect or know if people
would
like it, but something clicks with people, the icy cold psychology people
seem to enjoy, when
Troma
called it an
erotic thriller, I had to laugh, really depends on your personal tastes I
guess.

Any future projects you'd like to share?

We
shot another doc drama horror over the summer, Lonely Hearts - essentially
Unreal meets The Wicker
Man - hoping to send out to distributors
end of the year. Earlier this year we shot Toxic
Schlock,
a grubby grimy horror comedy for the post Brexit age with Tony Newton -
Troma should be
releasing
that late or early next year.

What
got you into making movies in the first place, and did you receive any
formal education on the subject?

I
sort of decided when I left college 10 years I didn't wanna sit around
waiting to make films, I dived
in
head first making zero budget features as much as I can, failing hugely
and learning quickly. I
believe
to last in this game you can do so by making mistakes and learning them.

Besides making movies, you also run the Making Waves
Festival - so what can you tell us about that one, and the philosophy
behind it?

Making
Waves is about showcasing film makers, not just locally but
internationally, its been
running
5 years and I'm looking to take it in a different direction. As a film
maker an award is nice,
but
I want the support there for others who want to get in the field.

How would you describe yourself as a
director?

For
me as a director its important, to have a realtionship with everyone, filmmaking is team work,
it‘s
not about one ego, it's about trust, creativity and ambition. I try my
hardest to combine these
things, it's up to those who see the films to decide whether I succeed.

Filmmakers who inspire you?

I
am a massive fan of David Cronenberg for his icey intelligence, David
Lynch for his surreal
nightmares,
Darren Aronovsky for pushing the boundaries of art and disturbance, John
Carpenter for
always
being an independent just like Robert Rodriguez.